Gift of Grace Part 2

Today’s a new day! Being a Christian and living a life saved by grace does not mean we take sin less seriously; it means we take sin more seriously. We cannot continue to live in our old self and continually bring out the grace card. Yes, we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. But that doesn’t mean we can be flippant about our sin. Jesus told us, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The Apostle Peter reminded us that “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). Genuine faith produces the fruit of good works; by the same token, “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). That’s why Paul, even after he has told us that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1), admonished us to “put to death the deeds of the body,” which themselves lead to death (Romans 8:13). If we take a casual attitude toward sin, we will eventually take a casual attitude toward Jesus. While we should never live in guilt and shame over sin from which we have truly repented, we cannot allow ourselves to live a life where we think that a decision to follow Jesus means anything less than actually following Him. ~OC